Medical access devices are used in the treatment of hospitalized patients for a variety of purposes, including intravenous catheters, feeding tubes, Foley catheters, chest tubes, and a variety of surgical drains. Many of these medical access devices transport fluids from or to the patient and use a variety of flexible tubes to give the patient a range of movement during treatment. Unfortunately, due to the freedom of movement that some patients exhibit, the tubing associated with medical access devices is often subjected to forces that cause damage to the tubing, the patient, or both. For example, the tubing typically used in the administration of intravenous fluids is often several feet long, and accordingly can become entangled on hospital beds or other medical equipment surrounding the patient. As the patient moves, the tubing can be stretched. In extreme cases (which occur with astonishing frequency), the fluids being administered to the patient, or the patient's own body fluids can be spilled, creating a risk of contamination to the patient's treatment environment, and potentially exposing the patient to a risk of infection.
Thus there is a need for a system that prevents such damage caused by such forces. There is a further need for such a system that can be used with the variety of existing medical devices, without alteration to such medical devices. Such a system is described below.